Category Archives: Dogs

Man killed and woman seriously injured in dog attack in Tasmanian home

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Council officers who attended the scene were shaken by what they encountered after a man, 66, was pronounced dead at an Allens Rivulet property on Sunday

A police investigation is under way after a pet dog killed its owner and left another in a serious condition at a rural property in southern Tasmania.

Neighbours raised the alarm after hearing cries for help at 10.40pm on Sunday.

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Private jet service for rich dog owners condemned by climate campaigners

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UK-based charter firm launches ‘ludicrous’ £8,166 Dubai-London route for clients who want to fly with pets

Environmentalists have condemned a “ludicrous” private jet service that transports wealthy people’s dogs, which this week ran its first flight from Dubai to London.

For £8,166, one way, customers were able to sit with their dogs on their laps and sip champagne as they travelled from Al Maktoum international airport to Farnborough in a Gulfstream IV-SP jet.

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Authorities rescue nearly 100 goldendoodles from Iowa puppy mill

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The dogs at Paris Puppies Paradise, who were underweight and living in their own feces, were housed with a rescue organization

Iowa authorities rescued nearly 100 dogs from a puppy mill over the weekend, many of whom were living in their own excrement.

On Friday, a deputy from the Boone county sheriff’s office was conducting a welfare check on a missing woman and came across what appeared to be a puppy mill, the sheriff’s office said in a press release.

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Lost Michigan toddler found asleep in woods using family dog as furry pillow

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One dog provided support and another kept watch as two-year-old girl was found three miles from Upper Peninsula home in slumber

A two-year-old girl who walked away from her home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula alongside two family dogs was found in the woods hours later sleeping on the smaller dog like a furry pillow, state police said.

“She laid down and used one of the dogs as a pillow, and the other dog laid right next to her and kept her safe,” Lt Mark Giannunzio said on Thursday. “It’s a really remarkable story.”

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Suella Braverman pushes for ban on American bully XLs after attack

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Home secretary calls breed ‘clear and lethal danger’ after attack on 11-year-old girl in Birmingham

Suella Braverman is pushing for a ban on American bully XL dogs, arguing they are a “clear and lethal danger”, particularly to children.

The home secretary announced she has commissioned urgent advice on outlawing the dogs after she highlighted an “appalling” attack on an 11-year-old girl in Birmingham.

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Pit bull puppy saved by California police after possible fentanyl exposure

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The pup’s owners were arrested in a Walmart parking lot on suspicion of animal cruelty and possession of narcotics

California police administered an overdose-reversing drug to a pit bull puppy in attempts to save it from a potential fentanyl overdose.

On Friday, the Irvine police department announced that it administered a dose of Narcan to the puppy after it was exposed to fentanyl in a car and began to “show signs of an overdose”.

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Border terrier makes incredible journey 100 miles across Switzerland

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Lucky was left in kennels in Bern but escaped and made her way to Lake Geneva before being found and traced to owners

An escaped border terrier named Lucky made an epic 100-mile journey across Switzerland on the eve of the country’s national holiday, according to local media reports.

Her owners had left her in kennels in the region of Bern, but the 14-year-old dog broke out on Monday evening. The following morning she turned up in Geneva 160 kilometres (100 miles) away, the RTS public broadcaster reported.

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Twiglet the burgled dachshund back with owner after successful dog-hunt

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Essex police continue to appeal for witnesses after release of video leads member of public to rescue pet

Twiglet, the miniature dachshund who was stolen by a masked man during a burglary, is safe and well and has been reunited with her owner, police have said.

Officers in Essex launched a dog-hunt, releasing a video of the theft and appealing for information after an intruder took the 16-month-old dachshund from her home in Catmere End, Saffron Walden, at about 3pm on Wednesday.

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Rare and ‘seriously, seriously cute’ chubby-cheeked rat discovered near Melbourne

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Shy broad-toothed rat found after a detection dog tracked down its bright green poo

A detection dog has unexpectedly discovered a new population of rare native rodents in Melbourne’s outer east.

The previously unrecorded broad-toothed rat population was found by a four-year-old labrador called Moss who was searching the Coranderrk bushland near Healesville sanctuary.

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RAF proposal to move Dambusters dog’s grave rejected

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West Lindsey council votes down proposal to relocate dog, named after a racial slur, to Norfolk airbase

Councillors have rejected proposals to exhume and relocate a dog buried at the former base of the Dambusters put forward amid concerns about the suitability of the grave’s location once the site is repurposed as accommodation for asylum seekers.

During an extraordinary planning meeting on Wednesday evening, West Lindsey district councillors unanimously voted down an application by RAF Heritage to relocate the dog to an airbase in Norfolk.

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MPs vote down Labour attempt to revive animal welfare bill

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Motion to bring back legislation on puppy smuggling and live exports that was part of Tory manifesto rejected in Commons

MPs have voted down an attempt by Labour to revive the government’s animal welfare bill.

Last month ministers announced they were dropping the kept animals bill, which was part of the Tories’ 2019 manifesto. The legislation aimed to clamp down on puppy smuggling and dog theft, as well as banning the live exports of farm animals.

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What’s behind the rise in dog attacks? – podcast

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Seven people have been killed by dogs in the UK so far this year. Simon Usborne reports on the worrying increase in attacks

Deaths and serious injuries sustained in dog attacks are rising rapidly in the UK. So far this year seven people have been killed in such incidents. For years the average was stable, at about three deaths a year, but something has changed recently. During the Covid pandemic, dog ownership rose sharply as people took on pets as companions. But that’s only part of the story.

The reporter Simon Usborne tells Nosheen Iqbal the increase in demand for dogs allowed unscrupulous dealers to enter the market and sell to unsuitable owners. There are also new breeds to contend with: the American bully, a type of bulldog, has become notorious for a seemingly disproportionate involvement in serious incidents. There are calls for the breed to be banned.

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Met police dealing with at least one dangerous dog a day, figures show

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MPs call for new laws as data shows rise in number of dog seizures is not matched by action against owners

The Metropolitan police are dealing with at least one dangerous dog every day, figures show, as MPs call for ministers to introduce new laws to stop vicious dog attacks.

Police data shows the force seized 479 out-of-control dogs last year under the Dangerous Dogs Act – up from 333 in 2021 and 336 in 2019. As of the start of May this year the Met police had already seized 154 dogs.

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American bully: dog breed under spotlight in UK after fatal attacks

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Breed responsible for nine deaths since 2021, but dog organisations suggest ban may not address the issue

The American bully has quickly become one of the more visible dog breeds in the UK in recent years.

The breed is not recognised by any of the main dog associations in the UK, meaning there are no figures on ownership rates in the country. However, the dogs’ frequent appearance in the news, often under tragic circumstances, suggests they are more prevalent than ever.

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Dogs with dementia also have sleep problems, finds study

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Humans with condition can have disturbed sleep, and similar symptoms in dogs indicate cognitive decline is under way

From loud snores to twitching paws, dogs often appear to have a penchant for a good snooze. But researchers have said elderly canines with dementia appear to spend less time slumbering than those with healthy brains – mirroring patterns seen in humans.

It has long been known that people with dementia can experience sleep problems, including finding it harder to get to sleep. Researchers have also found changes in the brainwaves of people with dementia during sleep – including decreased slow brain waves that occur during non-rapid eye movement deep sleep. These are important in memory consolidation and appear to be linked to the activity of the brain’s system for clearing away waste.

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Rough life: lost dog returned home after epic 150-mile Alaskan sea-ice journey

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Nanuq, a one-year-old Australian shepherd, disappeared from a family trip and went on an adventure across the Bering Sea

A one-year-old Australian shepherd took an epic trek across 150 miles (241km) of frozen Bering Sea ice that included being bitten by a seal or polar bear before he was safely returned to his home in Alaska.

Mandy Iworrigan, Nanuq’s owner who lives in Gambell, Alaska, and her family were visiting Savoonga, another St Lawrence Island community in the Bering strait, last month when Nanuq disappeared with their other family dog, Starlight, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

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‘Small like a ball’: Pearl the chihuahua becomes world’s shortest dog

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Pearl is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness World Records says

What do you call a chihuahua dog that’s shorter than a popsicle stick and can fit in your pocket? The planet’s shortest living dog, Guinness World Records has announced.

Pearl qualified for the title after a veterinarian at the Crystal Creek animal hospital in Orlando, Florida, where she was born, used a special dog-measuring wicket to determine she was just under 3.6in (9.14cm) tall and 5in (12.7cm) long. Those dimensions mean she is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness said in a statement.

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Pets could be gene-edited under new English law, says RSPCA

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Act opens door to technology being used to create cats and dogs with extreme features, says charity

Pets could be subjected to gene editing under a new government act, the RSPCA has warned.

The animal charity has said that the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act applies to all vertebrate animals, not only farmed animals, and that it could lead to cats and dogs being gene-edited to include extreme features.

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Labrador retrievers ousted as top US dog breed after record 31 years

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French bulldogs take title after dizzying rise, thanks to celebrity owners from Leonardo DiCaprio to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

For the first time in three decades, the US has a new favorite dog breed, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Adorable in some eyes, deplorable in others, the sturdy, push-faced, perky-eared, world-weary-looking and distinctively droll French bulldog became the nation’s most prevalent purebred dog last year, the club announced on Wednesday. Frenchies ousted labrador retrievers from the top spot after a record 31 years.

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Toronto dog owners bite back after city posts ‘no barking’ sign at pooch park

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City called off its dogs and said it would review its sign approval process after canine owners called the prohibition ‘lunacy’

Officials in Canada’s most populous city have their tails between their legs after they were forced to call off an effort to stop dogs barking in local parks.

Inhabitants of Toronto are grudgingly accustomed to a daily soundtrack of city life: gridlocked traffic, rumbling trucks, heavy machinery and noisy neighbours.

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